Crystal Mountain
by Saturn Angels
Summary: AeriSeph. (Aeris/Sephiroth) Thor writing a romance!? How can this be? Well...it's happened, so deal. Promised Land...etc. Read it, I have no summary right now.
1. Enter the Promised Land

Disclaimer: *clears throat* No, I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its corresponding characterizations of the villains…etc.

Alright, truth for the "characterization" part was: I just felt like using a big word. Hah. Take that! I'm home sick and I've been watching Utena with subtitles all day and I was…strangely enough, inspired to write a Final Fantasy VII fanfic…which happens to be AeriSeph! *gasp from the audience*

Do I care if it's unoriginal? Hell no! Now, read if you're not already.

Oh…and the title-was …strangely enough, inspired by the song (of the same name as the title) by Death…so what? Just cause I listen to death metal & heavy metal, and hard rock doesn't mean I'm incapable of writing a romance! ...Okay, so it'll either be a twisted romance, or there'll be all these twists and uncertainty and junk but…that just makes it so much better when they _do_ get together. Right?

Crystal Mountain  
Chapter One  
Enter the Promised Land  
By:  
Thor (Saturn Angels)

_Warmth…_ had been her first thought as she had entered the Promised Land. It was beautiful, flawless and untainted. So different from the over-populated city of Midgar where she had lived 17 or 18 years of her life in. She had become accustomed to the slums yet had always longed for the outside world where flowers could bloom freely under the midday sun gathering all the nutrients they needed naturally without being constantly tended to by the human hand.

She had her first taste of that beauty when she finally did leave Midgar; with Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red XIII. Dragging her thoughts away from Cloud she focused them on what she had felt that day. It had been her first taste of freedom, and like a parched man receiving the first drop of water; she had longed for more. More freedom, more beauty, more of everything.

She remembered wishing that everyone else in Midgar could have experienced the beauty she had seen. The stars…she had never seen the stars until leaving Midgar, they were magnificent.

But that was enough of the past…leaving Midgar had been one of the best things that happened to her. If she had never left she would never have been able to save the world through her prayer, and enter the Promised Land.

Through death she received an even better gift then life. The planet's hum was around her, louder then ever before but still so very soothing.

She couldn't help but smile faintly before trying to take in all of her surroundings. The grass; which covered almost every inch of ground, was the most flawless green color ever made by man. There were many different types of trees that flourished regardless of the temperature they supposedly needed. Off to the side was a pond where water lilies floated, completely surrounded by sakura trees (cherry blossoms). There was a long sparkling stream, which came from the lone mountain in the distance. And everywhere she looked there were fields upon fields of flowers. Some she had never seen before. Of the ones she recognized there were: roses of every color, lilacs, daisies, sunflowers, forget-me-nots, and much much more. She would have to learn them all by name someday.

And the city that was built to house the Cetra…it was marvelous. It stood tall yet looked simple as if trying to not hinder the beauty of the land that surrounded it.

She took a deep wavering breath and sat down on a rock to await the arrival of her escort. She had hardly sat down when she saw someone running towards her.

He stopped in front of her, out of breath, as he knelt to try and compose himself, "L-Lady Aeris, I presume?"

Aeris nodded, a warm greeting upon her lips, "Well, I guess it would be rude to call you 'Escort' so, what is your name?"

The man smiled slightly standing up; he looked to be around 5'9'' or so. He moved an unruly blonde strand of hair out of his eyes still smiling, "My name is Darius Edunäe, my mother is Carelia Edunäe, and we are both at your service." He bowed as he said this then looked back up at her, "We are all very grateful for what you did." He smiled kindly before taking her hand, "Come on now, I was told to take you to see…who was it? Mr. Johnson. I believe…to rearrange a home for you. And once you pick out a design and everything then you will get to 'reunite' with Ifalna."

Aeris smiled; her joy almost causing tears to spring to her eyes. How long she had waited for this moment! She only wished she had the same opportunity to meet her father, Gast…

"I'm sure you'll like it here, Miss Gainsborough." Darius said before stopping in front of one of the buildings, "This is the Household of the Elders- and that big building is the where the Head Council is, and then there's our destination the House of the Designer. I'm afraid our creativity had run out to think of a better name for the old place." He chuckled and Aeris laughed quietly.

He took her to meet the designer, and that is where he left her. She missed his presence almost immediately…he reminded her of someone. He had such soft…childlike blue eyes, yet they held a complete air of mystery to them that made her anxious to know his secrets. Who was it he reminded her of…?

_Cloud._

The thought made her wince and rejoice at the same time. She missed Cloud terribly…his stubbornness, his solitude, his air of dominance that he always wanted to hold. Quite the show-off.

And Darius…seemed kinder, sort of…an optimist. He seemed like he was one of those types who had high-self esteem and always had a come-back for anything that was said against him, one that preferred the company of others but could stand alone if need be.

They were different, yet so alike...they even looked alike.

No...physically he reminded her of Cloud…but everything else seemed…so much like…

_So much like…_

"Miss Gainsborough! It's a pleasure to have you here with us! Finally! We've all been looking forward to this moment when you would be here in the flesh. I'm called Mr. Johnson. Now! What kind of house would you like?" the elderly man asked as he pulled out many different designs. "Now, would you like a big house, a small house, or an average sized house?"

"Average please…" Aeris said unsure of how small, small was.

Mr. Johnson nodded, "Good, good. Now…would you like a garden?"

Aeris nodded fervently, "Yes. That would be wonderful."

He smiled seemingly already having known what her answer would be, "How about a soft colored wall paper? Most young ladies enjoy those, how about a soft shade of lavender? Or pink?"

"Lavender would be great."

"Would you like wooden floors? Or carpeted?"

She smiled, "Um, well I'd like to have a sort of living room, which can be used as a reading room as well. I'd like that to have wooden floors and everything else to have beige carpets except in my room could I have dark purple carpets?"

The man chuckled, "Well if you had known what you wanted all along you should have wasted no time, little missy. Now, for the kitchen do you want tile or the same wood that will be in the reading room?"

Aeris giggled, this was fun… "Um, tiles, would work best I think."

"Alright, you'd like lots of windows? Looking out at your garden?"

She nodded grinning from ear to ear, what a beautiful place this was!

Every person was full of happiness and life…it made everything so much more, comfortable. She could adapt with such easiness…

"Well then, that'll be all!" the man smiled kindly, "By the time you get back with your mother everything will be ready, but unfortunately we don't put in any furniture- so perhaps you and your mother would like to go get some?"

Aeris nodded, "Thank you so much, Mr. Johnson!" she smiled kindly and gave him a hug, "For building my house and telling me something that my mother and I could do together. Thank you, again."

He laughed, "Young people these days. You go on…Ifalna must be dying to see you after so many years. Oh, her house has one of the largest gardens, it's basically all its comprised of really. You should recognize it…Cetra are drawn to their relatives naturally."

Aeris smiled thanking him once more before heading outside. She didn't have to look far, she found Ifalna's house with extreme ease. Her home was two buildings away from the Head Council's building.

Aeris slowed her pace, instantly becoming nervous, _What if she doesn't like who I've become? How I dress? My manners? Oh…I desperately hope she likes me…_ Aeris thoughts plagued her as neared the door. Gathering all her courage she knocked on the door lightly at first then louder a second time. For a while she thought no one was home before the door was swung open. Ifalna stepped out and when she saw her daughter she immediately went closer and hugged her tightly.

"Aeris…" Ifalna whispered, "How you've grown!"

Ifalna pulled away grasping her daughter's hand, "Come on inside, darling. How many humans did you get to fall madly in love with you?"

Aeris giggled, already warming up to her, "Mother!"

Ifalna smiled, "Ohh, Aeris." She sighed, "I wish I had been there! For everything." She chuckled lightly, they both sat down on the couch, "You liked Elmyra didn't you?"

Aeris nodded, "Yes…she was very kind to me."

Ifalna smiled, "I'm glad…Aeris…" she sighed, "I've watched over you for so long Aeris…I'm sorry, so sorry, for all the things that you had to go through alone. You always had friends…but you were always so lonesome, because you were different and you knew you were different. You tried to hide it but you're so special Aeris…everyone saw through it. Everyone loved you for it…"

Aeris' eyes watered and a tear escaped, "But I loved my life, mother."

Ifalna smiled nodding, "I know you did, my love. You could never be unhappy with life no matter how bad it got…and that is of the utmost compliments." Ifalna gently wiped Aeris' tear away, "now…remember…crying is contagious, but so is laughter." Immediately Ifalna grinned, "So, you're going to need things to put into your new home, aren't you? Honestly though! I told them to let you live with me but they insisted upon building you a new one!"

Aeris laughed hugging her mother gently before standing, "I guess you'll have to show me around, I have no clue where I should go to buy things."

Ifalna nodded, "Of course."

They both left the house and headed towards the town square.

In the Promised Land no one asked for any pay for anything they did. They all loved their work, so felt that they didn't have to get paid for it.

At the end of the day Ifalna walked Aeris to her new front door, "Well Aeris…welcome to your home. All your furniture should be moved in in about fifteen minutes. People work quickly here." Suddenly without warning a sly grin appeared on Ifalna's face, "So…what do you think of Darius?"

Aeris blinked, "Um, well, he's very nice."

"Is that all?"

Aeris faked a gasp, "Mother! Are you implying something?"

Ifalna began giggling, and soon Aeris joined in.

"Well…I hope you two can have the chance to become friends…and maybe more then that." Ifalna said with a wink.

Aeris laughed, "Mother!"

"Daughter!" she said in almost the exact same tone Aeris was using, "didn't Elmyra teach you about the birds and the bees?"

Aeris began laughing, "Goodnight Mother…I'll talk to you again tomorrow." Aeris kissed her mother's cheek before waving at Ifalna's retreating figure.

"Think about what I said!" Ifalna called before disappearing from view.

Aeris leaned against the doorframe before heading inside, _Why not…? Cloud would never be able to come here…why not start anew instead of always comparing others to the memory of him? I'll never see Cloud again…_

She closed her eyes painfully against the memory, because it wasn't _Cloud_ who he reminded her so much of...

It was Zack…

_Zack…_ Aeris sighed before heading into her bedroom not very surprised to see that the bed she had chosen was there already; flowered bedspread and all.

She sat down not quite sure if everything was real... She was in the Promised Land. She was reunited with her mother. She was dead.

_Dead…_ Somehow she had imagined everything to be different.

This wasn't how she imagined everything…

The Promised Land was supposed to be perfect, without any signs of civilization. It would be like the Garden of Eden.

But there were houses, and carpets and wallpaper and…so much more.

Yet everything was much more pure…

Aeris sighed once more before lying down not even needing to turn off the lights because once she rested her head on the pillow they turned off by themselves.

_What happens now?_

She didn't have much time to think of the possibilities since within a few seconds she was sound asleep anyway.

~*~*~*~*~

END CHAPTER ONE

What's with the capital letters, you ask? Well…just so you know there's more where that came from I guess. Yeah, I know it sucks. So sue me.

Next chapter: The Head Council & Sephiroth's Punishment. (The next chapter is called: "Enter Sephiroth" by the way. Just so you know. So don't bug me about it)

If you bothered to read this story, then you might as well review. You see that button down there? That says submit review? Well if you click on it…then write in the box then click 'submit review' then you're included in the shout-out list that's going to be in the next chapter! Isn't that great? …Now seriously. Review. 


	2. Enter Sephiroth

Disclaimer: Home sick again, watching Trigun. Don't ask me how Sephiroth got into the Promised Land to begin with. I don't know. This is a fanfic damn it. FAN FICTION. I have my artistic license… 

Wait…what's this? …It expired last month?

THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! No! *gets dragged away by government officials*

Government official: ... ^_^ Hi.

*crickets chirp*

Government official: ...Thor doesn't own any of this except Darius, Amabel, and some other meaningless characters she throws in. She shouldn't be allowed to keep writing, but due to popular demand, that's all she'll be able to do. Write, all day long.

Really? ^_^ No school!?

Government official: ...She'll also have to go to school though.

...That's you isn't it Tomoe?

Government official: …No. *shifty eyes*

Oi!! You can't spy on my fanfic writing! Just because you're writing an AeriSeph doesn't mean you can get ideas from me!!! *shoves 'government official' out the door* There, now that that's all over with…enjoy.

Crystal Mountain  
Chapter Two  
Enter Sephiroth  
By:  
Thor (Saturn Angels)

Aeris had already spent a week or so in the Promised Land becoming acquainted with every person there. They were all very kind; however, she seemed to be spending the most time around Darius.

"It seems to me that the Cetra's very flower is the rose, correct?" Aeris asked passing by yet another rose garden.

Darius smiled softly, "Well, perhaps there may be somewhat of a reason for that. Come with me."

Aeris blinked, "Where are we going?"

"About five minutes out of city limits there's a huge clearing full of roses- I want to show you something there."

Aeris smiled in anticipation, it took them perhaps less then five minutes to get there and her smile broadened as she looked around, "It's beautiful…yet…how does it prove the Cetra's love for roses?"

Darius smiled, "Well each and every single rose here signifies a Cetra here." He looked around at the flowers, "Every time a Cetra is born-or comes to the Promised Land a new rose appears. The lighter the color- the purer the Cetra's heart is."

Aeris looked at all the roses in awe, "I never knew such a place could exist."

Darius chuckled, "Everyone could always find your rose, Aeris. It has always been the most beautiful out of them all." He waved his hand for her to follow; which she did eagerly, he pointed among some flowers, and "There it is. The only white one out of all of them. There always seemed to be an air of...innocence about it. Strange to say it about a flower-but it's true."

Needless to say Aeris was speechless, perhaps even slightly embarrassed by it.

"I remember when I was a child I would always come here with my friends to play tag. Aeris..." he paused before continuing, "I always wondered who that rose belonged to...I wanted to meet the owner so much. I dreamt of what they would look like- everything." He smiled and turned to look at Aeris, "I imagined you. And here I am…my wish granted."

Aeris blushed, "Um…Thank you, Darius." All right…this guy was starting to make her a bit uncomfortable, they were friends but here he was …sounding as if he was confessing his undying love for her or something.

"Aeris and Darius sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage." A childish voice rang out.

Aeris began laughing looking around for the source of the voice; which she was sure, belonged to a little mischievous girl by the name of Amabel, "Amabel I know you're there…"

"You do not!" Amabel cried pouting, "How'd you know it was me?"

Aeris chuckled as Amabel walked out from behind some bushes. "Oh, I had a feeling…"

"Ewwww, you were gonna make kissy faces!" Amabel showed what she meant by pushing her lips forwards and proceeding to make 'smooching' sounds.

Aeris laughed, "Not true, little one. Amabel, you jump to too many conclusions- are you sure you're only seven?"

"How many times to I gotta tell you? Call me Amy! Amabel sounds all grown-up." She stuck her tongue out childishly, "and grown-ups are stuuupid."

Aeris pretended to look hurt, "…Amy…you think I'm stupid?"

Amy blinked and jumped up and down waving her hands side to side, "No, no, no! I mean other grown-ups! Like Darey!" she giggled.

"Oh how sweet of you." Darius said sarcastically as he chuckled.

Amy grinned up at him, "Annnnyyyway. I wasn't spyin' on you, just to let ya know. The, um, the…hmm. Oh yeah! The Head Council wants to see Aeris! And they said…what did they say? Oh…um…it was something about…something important!" she giggled proudly, "See? I delivered the message!" She paused putting her finger up to her chin in a thoughtful position, "Oh yeah! Now I have to go to a _secret_ meeting with Carey!" she smiled happily before running off waving, "Bye-bye Aeris!"

Aeris chuckled shaking her head, "Children these days. Well, I should just be on my way to the Council then; perhaps I'll see you later today? Or tomorrow?"

Darius smiled, "Of course."

"Alright. See you then." Aeris smiled and waved before turning around and sprinting towards the city.

She liked Darius…but she was so uncomfortable when things became…what was the word? Serious? Romantic? All of the above?

She walked into the Head Council building after catching her breath and straightening her dress and hair.

How exactly was she supposed to act around them? Polite? Was it like being in court?

She looked around the room, feeling glad that she saw Ifalna there. She walked over to her and sat in the seat next to her. "What's going on mother?" she whispered.

Ifalna turned her head to and said in a hushed voice, "I'm not sure."

"Aeris Gainsborough…we commend you greatly for the deeds which you have done. However," Vathan, the leader of the council, paused and looked around at everyone before continuing, "we seem to have a problem."

Ifalna grabbed Aeris' hand and held onto it tightly.

Galen, the man sitting next to Vathan, seemingly noticed Ifalna's uneasiness, "The problem isn't with Aeris though."

Gale, Galen's twin sister, continued his sentence, "It is with another. The murderer of Aeris."

_Sephiroth…?_

"He seems to have entered the Promised Land. There is no explanation as to why he is here; by all means he should have been reborn after death. But instead he has come here and we currently have him in captivity."

_Sephiroth…is here!?_ Aeris thought to herself, her eyes widening. _How is this possible…?_

"Because he has entered the Promised Land it means that he must have at least some Cetra blood in him." Galen continued, "We cannot kill anyone in the Promised Land. It is impossible…and if he does die he'll only be sent back here. We are not quite sure as what to do with him."

"Bring him forward." Vathan said waving his hand at some of the guards.

Three guards came back, one leading them and two holding each of his arms as he struggled.

Aeris brought her hand over her mouth suppressing a gasp of surprise. That was no way to treat anyone… he was bound and chained yet still guards were told to hold him still.

"His weapon was taken from him, yet, even now he tries to break free."

Sephiroth's struggle suddenly stopped as he saw Aeris. His eyes widened slightly in disbelief, "I thought I killed you." He muttered, "I'll have to right my mistake!" He began struggling again.

"Rave!" Vathan yelled, and not even seconds later an incredibly bulky man came out brandishing a long, thick, whip.

"Twenty lashes!" Vathan called out, Rave nodded and began his work.

Bam.

Bam.

Aeris winced, _How can this be happening!? The Promised Land…is holy ground! No pain should be experienced here!!_

Bam.

Sephiroth clenched his teeth against the pain; his wounds from his battle with Cloud hadn't completely healed and it felt as if some of them were reopening.

Bam.

Bam.

The one thing Aeris always detested was human suffering…whether it was deserved or not.

Bam.

Aeris stood from her seat and began walking quickly to where Sephiroth was. "Stop it!!" she cried out as she came closer.

Bam.

"I said stop!!" Aeris yelled again.

The room was silent, "What do you mean 'stop'?" Vathan asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Aeris expecting an explanation.

Aeris shook her head, "No one deserves this kind of treatment…especially not in the Promised Land! This is supposed to be some paradise where pain is completely erased from everyone's souls…but here you all are, ganging up on him! It's just not fair."

Gale and Galen both smiled slightly as if agreeing with her; Vathan's eyebrow rose in question, "Really? Is that so? You're too compassionate for your own good, Aeris. What do you suggest we do with him then, hm, Aeris? Let him live?"

"…Yes."

"And where do you think he'd live? There's no way anyone would agree to build him a house, and I don't think anyone's keen on having 'Aeris' murderer' move in with them."

Aeris put her hands on her hips defiantly looking up at Vathan and at the rest of the Council, "Then he can move in with me."

"That's absurd! He'd kill you while you slept."

"You can't die in the Promised Land! You're already dead!"

"That doesn't mean that having your head cut off, or your neck broken won't be painful!"

Aeris paused, "I'll keep my door locked."

"He could easily knock it down."

"You're making this difficult…"

"You're the one who is complicating things, Gainsborough."

Ifalna interrupted, "Well, what if we were to place a magic spell on Aeris' bedroom door making it so he couldn't enter at nighttime? Or without her consent?"

Vathan quieted as he looked at Ifalna thoughtfully, "You would allow your _daughter's murderer_ to move in with her?"

"If that was her wish."

"Fine. Sephiroth will move in with Aeris until we have thought of somewhere else to put him, or something else to do with him. You are all dismissed, Gale go with Aeris and see to it that the spell is placed correctly." He stood and looked at Aeris before leaving saying, "I hope I know what you're getting yourself into."

"Don't I have a say in this?" Sephiroth asked anger evident in his voice as he stood up straight.

"Well hello to you too." Aeris said smiling jokingly at him, it seemed to not have any effect whatsoever so she averted her gaze to the approaching council member, "Well, Gale, should we go now?"

Gale nodded, "I suppose so. You're crazy Aeris, very crazy. Then again I suppose you'd have to be crazy to attempt something like this."

**After the spell was placed on the door**

"Now, don't get all freaked out if at nighttime you see the door glowing; it's just the barrier." Gale explained, "And…try to be careful around him, alright? You never know for sure when a person has truly changed."

Aeris nodded, "Don't worry…I learned a lot from Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cait Sith, and Red XIII."

Gale smiled warmly, "I'm sure you did…but you could've just said Cloud and company. Or my friends, you didn't have to go and list them."

Aeris giggled, "Have a good day, Gale."

"You too Aeris."

Aeris sighed softly and headed over to the guest room, where Sephiroth would be staying. Fortunately for him this was the one room that wasn't girlishly decorated. The carpet was actually black, the walls were dark blue, and the bedspread was navy blue. She took a deep breath before heading inside and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

He had fallen asleep a long time ago, and already his wounds were beginning to heal. He looked so innocent when he slept...not at all like the blood-thirsty Sephiroth she knew.

She closed her eyes and wondered briefly what he was like when he hadn't been under the influence of Jenova. When he hadn't been misled…when he hadn't gone insane.

After a few more seconds of watching over him; she got up, went downstairs, made a bowl of popcorn, and started to watch TV.

The TV in the Promised Land was more something that allowed you to watch over the humans on Gaia. (Misc. note: Gaia = Final Fantasy 7 world.) She usually always had the channel on #7777 (Cloud's channel), #8342 (Yuffie's channel), #1882 (Vincent's channel), #5988 (Tifa's channel), #45078 (Barret's channel), and sometimes just whatever caught her eyes at the time; though she felt that it was a bit wrong to be spying on people that way.

There was a knock at the door and Aeris turned away from her Cloud-viewing to set the popcorn down and go answer the door.

"I heard what happened." Darius said as soon as the door opened, "He's here isn't he? In your house."

Aeris blinked, "Who…?"

"You know who."

"Sephiroth?"

Darius nodded, "Why did you go and do something so stupid?" he held his hand to his head. "I knew you were naïve but this reaches a whole new level…"

Aeris furrowed her eyebrows, "People change, Darius."

"Not people like him. People like him can _never_ change their ways. It was a mistake to let him live here. I just hope you don't have to find it out the hard way."

Aeris was silent as she bit the inside of her mouth not liking it when people spoke badly of others, "You are no better then him." She shook her head, "Could you please leave?"

"Aeris?" He asked taken aback.

"I'll see you tomorrow once you calm down and see how wrong you are." She said looking at him sadly.

"…Goodbye then, for now. I only hope you're right." Darius said before turning and walking away.

Aeris closed the door behind him, she made her way back to the couch and continued watching TV. She smiled slightly…Marlene was growing up nicely. Tifa and Cloud were becoming closer… shivers ran up and down her spine and she tried to compose her self. They deserved that bit of happiness…

~On T.V.~

"Cloud? Barret just told me something I thought you might like to hear."

Cloud turned to Tifa, his blue eyes gazing into hers, a slight smile playing at the edges of his lips, "And what would that be?" It had done a close-up on him; his eyes...

"Marlene got her first boyfriend."

Cloud's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened, "You're joking?"

Tifa shook her head.

"Come on! She's only…what? Six? Seven?"

"Nine, Cloud. Don't you keep track of the birthdays?" Tifa laughed.

Cloud smiled, "Even so…she's way too young to have a boyfriend!"

"Oh…if only Aeris were here…then I would have someone to share the joy with…" Tifa sighed sadly then abruptly looked up at Cloud, "Oh…I'm sorry Cloud! I forgot…"

"…It's … fine."

~Promised Land~

Aeris turned off the television, "…I should go check on Sephiroth now…" Cloud's life was becoming too much like a soap opera.

She ran up the stairs skipping a few at a time. Once she reached the top she turned left and walked inside not completely surprised to see him sitting up in bed.

He turned before she even set foot into the room, "Where's Masamune?"

Aeris blinked and leaned against the closet door tilting her head to the side acting innocently curious, "Masamune?" she smiled and clapped 'enthusiastically', "Oh! The sword you stabbed me with!"

No reaction. Not even a wince, no sign of remorse.

"I don't know where it is. The council took it away from you is what I'm guessing, unless it was destroyed by Cloud when you died."

_There we go! A glare. At least I know he's paying attention to what I'm saying._ Aeris sighed, "Look Sephiroth. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot just because you killed me…and then tried to kill me again. But, forget about that. The point is, I want you to know that I forgive you."

"You think by saying that me opinion of you will go up?" he asked.

Aeris rose an eyebrow, "Well…" okay, so she hadn't been expecting that answer, "You should be nicer! I'm letting you stay here."

"Not by my choice."

"Stop being such a meanie."

"I could kill you right now if I wanted to."

"Why haven't you then?"

Silence.

_Hah! I won the psychological war!_ Aeris thought as she bit her lip to hide her triumphant smile.

"Why would you want your murderer living with you?" he asked suddenly.

Aeris blinked, "Well…because you were under Jenova's influence and-"

"Not the whole time." He muttered darkly.

Alright then. So once again that hadn't been the response she had hoped for or expected.

"…So if you had the chance you would kill me again?"

Alright, not the happiest of subjects but he was talking.

"After killing all the others here? Of course."

"Why are you such a … a… sadistic person, Sephiroth?" Aeris asked folding her arms across her chest and looking at Sephiroth a stubborn look crossing her features, "Why can't you just enjoy life? And warm up to the fact that you're not some killing machine anymore- you're more normal then you ever have been before. Why can't you just except it?"

"Because then I'd end up like you."

Ouch.

_I've heard of the 'truth' hurting but this is just cruel…_ "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sephiroth only smirked, his cold sea green mako eyes slowly traveling up her face to meet her emerald-colored eyes. "Whatever you want it to mean, Princess Perfect."

Aeris blinked, unbelievingly, "Y-You…That's just cruel."

And he actually had the nerve to laugh. To laugh!

Aeris glared at him, much like a five year old would glare at her father before throwing a fit because he wouldn't buy her the newest Barbie, and pouted slightly, "I'll be downstairs! Call me if you need. Anything.!" She clenched her hands into fists as she stormed out of the room.

His mocking laughter echoed in her mind long after it had become silent.

She could only take so much!

~*~*~*~*~

END CHAPTER TWO

Okay…so they don't get along too well…heehee. Everything is going according to plans! So…here's the shout-out list I promised.

**theyreallyloveme**: *_'enthusiastic cheer_* No, he's not like Sephy. Guess you didn't read all of the chapter- or just didn't pay close attention. *clears throat and quotes* "because it wasn't _Cloud_ who he reminded her so much of...It was Zack…" You see? How could someone nice remind her of Sephy? ^^ well, here's the update…though I'm sad to say it probably wasn't as consistent as my first chapter- second chapter never is, for me *sob* I hope you approve of my characterizations (big word, lol) of the characters…

Bluebomber: My second review! *Woo*, I'm on a roll, lol. Cool, have anything to bitch about in this chapter though?

Clownsareevil & Darkshadowheartless: First off, love your penname thing. Yes…clowns _are_ evil…oh, and thanks for your encouraging review.

**Lovely Lucrecia**: Cool. My fic looks promising. *pause* Guess that means I can't slack off on updates then, huh?

**Diana**: Well…I hope this was soon enough. And if not…well, too bad.

Morbid Knight: Well here's chapter two ^_^ ehehe… yeah, I'm making Sephy evil but…they'll get together ^^ with a lot of obstacles in their way of course!

Anyway, thanks for all your reviews- if you couldn't figure it out bold is for signed reviews and underlined is for anonymous. So I'm copying Vale's layout for the shout-out list.

Go ahead, try and sue me.

You'll have to catch me first!

*long pause*

Wait! Time out! First I have to tell you what's in store for you in the next chapter… *suspenseful music* Are you ready? If not, you should be!

The mission (Chapter title: Enter the Objective). Yeah, I could have just said the chapter title was "Enter the Mission" … but I didn't so deal with it. 


	3. Enter the Objective

Disclaimer: Haha, perhaps I should just get sick more often. As you might now guess, I'm home sick once again. Though this time I haven't been watching any anime-I've been reading Love Hina. Hah! So... yeah. I'm sick, and this was next on my list of things I need to update since it's been so long. Sorry everyone for the wait! Please forgive me! I'm just... bad at updating :( sorry!  
  
So...you know, if you've been dying for an update well.. here it is! Maybe I do need to be sick to update... Anyway, I don't own anything but Darius, Amabel, other random original characters, and the plot to this. If there is a plot, I mean think about it, I did start this when I was sick, I wrote the second chapter while I was sick, and am now writing the third chapter...you guessed it, while sick. So, sorry I haven't been very good at updating. You know me. Lazy as always, but I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless if you're still bothering to read it. Which I hope you are because I'm greedy like that even if by now if I were you I'd have forgotten this sorry piece of work. Haha.  
  
Crystal Mountain  
Chapter Three  
Enter the Objective  
By:  
Thor (Saturn Angels)  
  
It'd been three days since Sephiroth had moved in with Aeris and three days since she'd last seen Darius. Each morning it was the same thing, Aeris would try her best to get Sephiroth out of bed, the silver haired warrior would often flip her off or threaten to kill her and she would leave. Occasionally though Sephiroth would be out of bed already and just sitting in his room looking like he was concentrating heavily on something. The flower girl always figured he was thinking up ways to escape.  
  
Because it just seemed like something a person like Sephiroth would spend his time doing. Aeris hummed a simple tune quietly to herself as she walked down the hallway, her slippered feet making scuffing sounds every time she took a step. "What a beautiful day it is..." she murmured softly to herself, stopping by one of the many windows to gaze lovingly outside. Her garden, as it was in Midgar, was her pride and joy. In the past few days it wasn't unusual for her to just pull up a chair and look out at her flowers for hours, until the sky darkened into night.  
  
Today though she didn't have time to dawdle, she had a mission to accomplish. "Sephiroth!" she called, her voice much too energetic for how early in the morning it was. The sun had only risen a couple of minutes prior to her wandering about the house. "Rise and shine" she said in a sing-song voice finally stopping outside of the guest room she'd let Sephiroth say in. "You're not going to sleep the whole day away again."  
  
She opened the door, and stopped in her tracks. Looking back and forth, the room was completely empty.  
  
"Sephiroth?" she asked blinking in confusion, "Sephy?" she called again, knowing for a fact that he couldn't stand being called by that nickname.  
  
That was odd, the house remained deathly quiet. It almost seemed like some sort of an omen... but of course Aeris didn't think of it that way. She walked further into the room, stopping near Sephiroth's bed. Completely empty, and it was made too... but it was impossible for him to have left in the middle of the night, and she would have heard him get up in the morning.  
  
"You are truly pathetic, flower girl." Aeris heard the familiar, cruel voice of Sephiroth from behind her.  
  
She spun on her heel to look Sephiroth straight in the eye, "Wha- When did you get up?" she questioned as if it were all some giant conspiracy against her, "And... why weren't you in your room? Finally turning over a new leaf I se-"  
  
And Sephiroth did roll his eyes in disgust, "I was just across the hallway. You wandered into the wrong room again."  
  
Again, yes it had happened more than once.  
  
Aeris blushed in embarrassment, "But! I, you!" she paused to regain her composure, cheeks puffing out as she breathed deeply in and out, "I get confused when there's more than one guest room!" That much was true though, in her house back in Midgar they'd only had one guest room and she'd never been in a house that had more than one. Most in fact didn't even have one.  
  
Sephiroth scoffed and shrugged his shoulders tiredly leaning against the doorframe. "It'd be too simple just to walk out and never come back. You're too naïve for your own good."  
  
"Where've I heard that one before?" she mumbled dejectedly, but she wasn't going to let Sephiroth spoil her mood. "I wouldn't mind if you left the house! You've been pent up in here ever since you came here." The brunette really had no idea when or why she had started talking to Sephiroth as if he was anyone else, she didn't think anything of it until night fell. That was when she got most of her thinking done, after all this was the man who killed her, who ruined her future with Cloud if she was ever to have one, this is the man who wanted to rule the world. This was GENOCIDE INSANE CRAZY ALBINO MAN OF DEATH, as some had chosen to call him.  
  
With a heavy sigh Aeris' brow furrowed and she folded her arms across her chest, then again this was the Sephiroth who went insane in the ShinRa building so long ago, she momentarily put herself in his place at that time and wondered if she would have done the same thing.  
  
Probably not. It wasn't in her nature to do something like that, though she couldn't quite make an educated guess seeing as she hadn't been there and it hadn't really happened to her and the closest she could get to it was assuming. And most assumptions are wrong.  
  
She wondered how old he had been when his life had crashed around his feet; he had had everything he wanted, could have had anything and anyone then suddenly one day changes everything.  
  
"How old are you Sephiroth?" she questioned randomly, and it took even him by surprise seeing as he had been watching her in silent, severe contemplation.  
  
Plus you know, it wasn't the best thing in the world to be killed by Cloud, twice, someone who was supposed to be by far inferior. But of course Cloud was different, he had untapped abilities that no one ever took notice of. Cloud could do anything.  
  
"I don't see how it's relevant." He answered, pushing his weight from the doorframe to his own two feet.  
  
Aeris snorted, seeing him like that. Never in her life would she believe that one day she would share a home with ShinRa's first class SOLDIER. Every girl had dreamed about it at one point before he went insane, but this... it was just unreal.  
  
He was standing there barefoot without a shirt in pajama bottoms. It had to be one of the most amusing things she'd ever seen. And so she burst out into a violent fit of giggles leaving Sephiroth bewildered and just a little annoyed.  
  
He had the weird gleam in his eye again, that look that said all too clearly 'Remember girl, you're not above death.' But no one could die in the Promised Land so Aeris paid not heed to it and continued laughing until her stomach ached and she was practically in tears.  
  
Ache.  
  
Pain.  
  
That was one thing she surely hadn't forgotten though. Pain most certainly could be felt... so was there a way for 'death to die' so to speak? Her laughter was slowly silenced but rather than fall into yet another thinking bought as she first wanted to she realized she still had a guest no matter how unhappy that guest was.  
  
"Do you want to go out with me?" she asked curiously. Then upon seeing his look of disgust and utter repulsion she realized what it sounded like she was asking. "No! I mean! Agh! You're so difficult! I meant out, literally, like you come with me to help me get groceries."  
  
"There aren't any grocery stores in the Promised Land, Flower Girl."  
  
"I know that!" She'd been there a full week longer than him and he was acting like he knew more than she did. Granted, she hadn't known about the absence of grocery stores..  
  
"There was something else I wanted to show you though!" she said, hands on her hips as a plan formulated itself in her mind. She wanted to see what the color of Sephiroth's rose was.  
  
Because... unless it was black than he couldn't be all bad. Then she'd have sufficient proof to prove to Darius that he wasn't as bad as everyone seemed to think of him as. Though they had proof as well. He did want to kill everyone after all. Had killed Aeris.  
  
Why did she want to help him then?  
  
She couldn't just stand aside seeing that perhaps something ended up the way it did because of choices. And he was here in the Promised Land now because it was destiny that Aeris clear his name.  
  
It seemed like she was the only one that could.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going back to bed, I just came out here to tell you that you were shouting into the wrong room, which I have." And with that he did exactly what he said he was going to. He even shut and locked the door behind him.  
  
"The nerve." Aeris mumbled to herself, though now that the idea had entered her head she was exceedingly curious. What color is Sephiroth's rose? Everyone has one. "Hey! I'm leaving I'll be back around-"  
  
"I don't care. The sooner you leave the later you come back, the better."  
  
"Meanie!" Aeris called out before grabbing her coat and heading to the front door, just as she exited she yelled, "Don't do anything stupid!"  
  
There wasn't a reply, but she hadn't been expecting one anyway.  
  
Five minutes later she found her way to the huge rose garden that Darius had shown her. "Now... which one is it?" she pondered to herself looking at the near one hundred roses,  
  
"Looking for Sephiroth's rose aren't you?"  
  
Aeris jumped seeing as she had thought she was alone. "Darius...you frightened me." She said, her hand on her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart. 'How embarrassing!' she thought to herself her cheeks tinged slightly pink as she tried to imagine what she must've looked like. Being so jumpy and all...  
  
"His rose shouldn't be that difficult to spot." He added, not even bothering to apologize for nearly giving the brunette a heart attack.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well, it's the darkest one yet." He pointed it out, and it was true... it did contrast the others greatly.  
  
"It's... red."  
  
"Dark red."  
  
"But not black." Aeris said with a broad grin, "That's all I came here for."  
  
"Wait a moment Aeris. Please sit down, I want to talk with you... I haven't seen you for almost a week now. I want to apologize if I did anything that upset you, I didn't mean to... I guess it's just been a long time since I've spoken with someone new... all the people here have been here for lifetimes and here you come along and... I just... I get nervous, you know?"  
  
Aeris nodded slowly, "I suppose I see what you mean. I'm sorry too, for not being more understanding. I know what it must be like, Sephiroth seeming like such an obvious danger to this place but I assure you Darius, he really isn't that bad. I've been living with him for... a few days and from what I've seen he seems more reclusive and cranky than violent... I think a lot of what he did had to do with circumstance."  
  
"You're the most naïve person I know." Darius said, shaking his head almost as if in disbelief. "It's utterly charming, fascinating even." He sat down on the grass and Aeris followed suit since it seemed like he was silently beckoning her to do so.  
  
There was a heavy and awkward silence between them, neither wanting to speak because they were afraid they'd begin speaking at the same time.  
  
"Aeris." "Darius"  
  
Their names came in unison and both of them laughed, and ushered the other to continue.  
  
"Aeris, I know I haven't known you for that long, but I just want you to know that I really admire you."  
  
Aeris blushed, "I don't see why... there's nothing particularly special about me..." After all, this was the person who was so lonely in the Promised Land that she watched her friends on television. Cloud was incredibly cute when he slept though, well she used to watch them on TV. But since Sephiroth moved in she had felt embarrassed about it.  
  
Darius chuckled softly and shrugged, "That's another thing. Always so humble..."  
  
"Nice weather we're having lately, isn't it? But I suppose it's always nice weather here..." Aeris mumbled, beginning to grow uncomfortable with the subject Darius had chosen.  
  
"I love you, Aeris."  
  
"What!?" she couldn't help but yell, and had she been standing she was sure she would have lost her balance. "I hardly even know you Darius!"  
  
"Get to know me, marry me, we have all the time in the world Aeris. All the time in the world and more." Darius said, grabbing hold of Aeris's hand.  
  
She shuddered inwardly, this didn't feel right at all. "It's too sudden! I haven't even been here two weeks, I haven't spoken to you in the last three days! Darius I hardly even know you!" she repeated.  
  
Darius shrugged, "That doesn't matter Aeris. I love you, it was love at first sight. Don't you feel the same way? I've already spoken to your mother about this, about us."  
  
"Wh-what? Darius there is no us and I'm sorry if I made you think there was!" Aeris said, trying to pry her hand from his grasp but to no avail, this was turning out to be more like a soap opera than a paradise.  
  
Darius's grip tightened on her hand, "Aeris, hear me out. If you say no now, the opportunity might not arrive again. Seize the moment...Ilfalna thinks it's a great idea."  
  
"Listen Darius, I don't care what my mother thinks because..." Why was she turning him down? Hadn't she really liked him when they first met? Why was she so reluctant to even be near him now? It's not like there was someone else...  
  
Just when it seemed Darius was going to try and pull something again Amabel came to Aeris's rescue. Though perhaps, circumstances weren't as they should have been.  
  
"Darius! Darius! Aeris!" she cried sobbing, her face flushed from the run from the city to the Rose Field. "Aeris!" she catapulted herself into the flower girl's arms, "You have to help! Sephiroth-Sephiroth's gone insane!" she began to sob, "He he he-" she began hiccoughing and it was hard to understand her, "Vathan's dead!"  
  
"Dead?" Darius asked in disbelief, "What do you mean dead?"  
  
"He's not moving, his his ... he," she sobbed once more, breaking down completely.  
  
Aeris looked to Darius in confusion and helplessness though he was little help since the expression he wore on his face seemed only to say: 'I told you so, didn't I?'  
  
"He can't be dead, calm down sweety. Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Aeris asked, rubbing the girl's back consolingly.  
  
"I know! Because because," sob, "Galen and Galen told me to come and get you, and they were bloody and." Her words were cut off as yet another bout of tears occurred.  
  
"Where is Sephiroth?" Aeris asked, and the girl sniffled, "The head council building."  
  
"Stay here and take care of Amabel!" Aeris commanded, prying the girl from her body and handing her over to the unwilling Darius. She really didn't know how helpful she would be, she was no match for the great Sephiroth.  
  
How had he killed Vathan? No one could die in the Promised Land.  
  
It was impossible. Utterly impossible, even for someone like Sephiroth.  
  
She ran into the Head Council building without thinking twice about it, she had no plan of action, wasn't even prepared for what she was going to do. The sight that greeted her wasn't a completely unfamiliar one-she'd seen gory things while roaming the streets of Midgar, she'd seen gory things that Sephiroth had caused as well.  
  
"Sephiroth!" she called out, in a reprimanding tone as if it would someone bring him back to his senses, but the thing she feared was that his senses had never left him. Somehow he'd been planning it all, while alone in his room he'd somehow found a way to make the impossible, possible. But why would he do it? There was no point! Why would someone want pain and suffering when they could have paradise, no when they DID have it.  
  
He turned to her and there was an evil malicious gleam in his eye, one that wasn't alien to her. After all, he always had that look in his eyes. Whenever he was awake at least. But the thing that made her stop and look again was what he held in his hands.  
  
"Masamune..." she murmured breathlessly. The Sword of the Gods. It wasn't completely impossible then that Vathan had been killed by it. Everyone was in danger this way. But how had Sephiroth managed to find it? Hadn't it been destroyed?  
  
Had this not been a completely serious moment Aeris would have laughed, Sephiroth was still in his night-ware. But this wasn't the time to be amused, in fact she didn't even notice his attire.  
  
"Why are you doing this!?" she yelled at him, "You were given a second chance! Why didn't you use it? You had the opportunity of a lifetime-"  
  
"You think I care about that, Cetra?" he asked angrily, "I'm not the type to just sit around and spend eternity in a perfect place, it doesn't suit me. I'd go insane."  
  
"You're already insane Sephiroth!" Aeris said angrily, and was immediately regretting her choice of words. Sephiroth didn't seem to care in the least though.  
  
"There's only one thing on my mind right now."  
  
"What's that? To kill everyone? Everyone on the planet and in the Promised Land? Well listen! I've been waiting to be here since the moment I was born and you're not going to take it away from me so easily! You'll have to kill me first you heartless butcher!" she yelled, her eyes shut tightly in fear that she would be killed, but she was determined not to back down. She would put up a fight even without a weapon. She wouldn't let someone like Sephiroth desecrate this place.  
  
"There's only one person I want to kill, and no. Don't give me that look, wench, it's not you. It's Cloud. So long as I'm allowed to leave this Godforsaken place there won't be anymore killing." He spat on the body of Vathan whose clear blue eyes had what looked like a layer of film over them, staring at the ceiling, the life completely drained out of him. "He, however, had it coming."  
  
"I won't let you kill Cloud!" Aeris shouted, her voice sounding almost pained.  
  
"You act as if he was your lover."  
  
She remained silent. True, they hadn't been anything more ... they shared a love between them that was almost holy, but they'd never done anything at all. Perhaps it was... because their love was more platonic. Funny to say that, but as she looked at it that's what it seemed to be. Like when people see paintings of two cherubs kissing one another's cheeks... they don't seem romantic in anyway... just simple, love. Care for someone who means the world to another.  
  
And even with that definition she wouldn't stand for someone hurting Cloud. Because he meant the world to her.  
  
"Then I'd suggest closing your eyes because this is going to hurt." He wiped the blood from the blade of the Masamune and advanced.  
  
Aeris shut her eyes, praying that Sephiroth wouldn't find a way back to Gaia, praying that Cloud and all of her friends would remain safe.  
  
She could hear his footsteps coming closer... closer... closer... it was almost like hearing death approach. Still the footsteps came, closer, louder... than she felt something collide with her head and that was the last thing she could clearly remember before losing consciousness.  
  
The green-eyed young adult awoke hours later, with a pain in her head that could rival the worst headache she'd ever had. What had happened? She certainly wasn't dead-had he just knocked her unconscious?  
  
"Glad you woke up..." Gale mumbled, "You've got to follow Sephiroth."  
  
"What? Follow him where?"  
  
"Amabel and her mother are both dead." Galen said solemnly.  
  
"Sephiroth's on Gaia once again."  
  
"You have to go get him."  
  
"Amabel's dead?" Aeris asked numbly, "What about Darius? He was supposed to be watching her!"  
  
How could Sephiroth kill Amabel? She was innocent...  
  
"Aeris. Right now-you have to go and get Sephiroth back here. Bring him back before anything happens. He should be near Bone Village by now."  
  
"Right. Aeris, will you go?"  
  
"Amabel.." Aeris said her eyes becoming watery.  
  
"Aeris, you need to go. Now."  
  
And she never had the chance to say her farewells, or 'I'll see you later's before she found herself in the Sleeping Forest.  
  
------------  
END CHAPTER THREE  
  
icemint: Yes ; it took a long time ::holds out arm to be pinched::  
  
Ardwynna Morrigu: Haha, did it lose it's adorableness? It'll come back though, promise. Love your writing style by the way :D  
  
Seraph Valentine: Ohoho! ...It fits... better now? Now that.. Sephy's... on a killing spree once more? Ah whatever, hope you're still reading, hehe :D  
  
aer-seph4eva: Wow! I love all of your stories so much nn anyway, right. I'll e-mail you... if you haven't changed your e-mail address by now...  
  
icemint: Thank you, again  
  
Phoenix6e: I tried to continue in the same way, but alas! My violent writing skills got the best of me. Things will return to normal soon enough though, promise.  
  
Lucrecia LeVrai: Thank you :D glad you liked chapter two, before that chapter I didn't even know what Big Brother was! But anyway, moving on, yes I didn't like the whipping TT .. Vathan got his in the end? Haha.  
  
Arcander: I love AeriSephs as well. Which is why I feel almost blasphemous by trying to write my own XD haha.  
  
Sapphira001: I know you said to update soon... but I'm terrible at that TT forgive me! If you're still reading.  
  
J-chan: Glad you've enjoyed my story this far! I just hope you continue reading... and enjoying, because it'd break my heart if you lost interest because the somewhat shift in plot.  
  
LadySephiroth: It makes me so happy that you liked my story so much, sorry to say you might not have enjoyed this chapter as much. Sorry again, please forgive me, I'm starting to lose touch with my writing style, it's been so long.  
  
Lagunamoomba: Thank you :D Sorry it took so long to update. I'm glad you like the way I had Sephiroth act in chapter 2 but I figured that had to change for this chapter to get them out of the Promised Land, but I swear he'll be back like that sooner or later.  
  
Professor Padfoot: Sorry! It's not the reviews, sure I love feedback and when I don't get enough I get all antsy-pantsy depressed (not really, I'm exaggerating) it's just I can't find the time to write as much, and then writer's block but hopefully I'll get over it.  
  
chaotic pink chocobo: here's the update! ...you never said when to update ; hehe :D  
  
Wot Wot Wark: Here's the update! Sorry it took so long xx  
  
lyn: Thank you  
  
SetsuntaMew: Yush, it's taken a turn for the more morbid but it'll get lighthearted once again. You know, once they leave the ice mountain-y place and go to Costa de Sol. Moo ha ha ha ha.  
  
Noacat: Look look! I finally did write more :D Sorry to keep you waiting for so long! ::hands you a cookie::  
  
Sadistic Shadow: Well! It seems you didn't have to get me sick.. because I got sick all on my own.  
  
Next chapter! 'Chasing Sephiroth'. Yes, that's what it's about and that's what it's called. Sorry about this chapter being different then the previous two... but things will become lighthearted again soon enough. 


End file.
